Improved Material System: Better Interior Lighting for ETS2 and ATS

Today, the development team at SCS Software shares another piece of the puzzle from the upcoming 1.60 update for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. The team hopes this news will excite the #BestCommunityEver. Update 1.60 introduces the Improved Material System for the interior of selected trucks. Let us take a closer look.

The Improved Material System significantly enhances the lighting and visual quality of vehicle interiors in selected trucks. Its main focus is improving how interior materials react to light. The result is a more readable, detailed, and visually pleasing cabin environment.

During the development of Project Road Trip, the team implemented a wide range of visual and technical improvements. One of the most significant changes was a redesign of the materials used in vehicle interiors.

This improvement has been requested by the community for some time. The previous system often made interiors appear too dark and flat, especially in scenes without direct lighting. The new system makes differences between materials such as leather, fabric, plastic, and metal far more apparent, even in low-light conditions.

How the New Material System Transforms Truck Interiors

The Vehicle Technical Leader Daniel explains the technology: “The main goal of the new system was to bring more light into shadowed areas of vehicle interiors. The previous system struggled to handle indirect lighting in these situations, causing many details to be lost in darkness. The new solution uses multiple variants of dynamic cubemaps, allowing all materials to reflect their surroundings more naturally and respond to ambient light in a more realistic way. Environmental reflections are no longer limited to highly polished metallic surfaces. This change gives interiors significantly greater depth and readability.”

The team has also carried out minor adjustments to global lighting. These adjustments focus primarily on exposure and contrast balancing. The update also includes subtle visual refinements for bad weather conditions to achieve a more consistent and refined look.

The development of this system took place in parallel with Project Road Trip. The importance of improved interior lighting became even more apparent during that project. Smaller, darker passenger vehicle interiors suffered from a lack of indirect light more than trucks. Trucks often have bright cabs and large windows that allow direct light to enter. Road Trip thus served as the ideal environment for developing and fine-tuning these technologies.

The entire system was designed from the start with truck interiors in both games in mind. The base games and their existing fleets will gradually benefit from these improvements as well. Throughout the entire process, the team kept players with lower-end hardware in mind. The goal was to make visual improvements as impactful as possible while minimizing performance cost.

First Trucks to Receive the Improved Material System

The first trucks to benefit from the Improved Material System will be the DAF NGD and MAN TG3 TGX models in Euro Truck Simulator 2. In American Truck Simulator, players will see redesigned interiors for the Mack Anthem and the Western Star 49X. With future updates, the team will gradually add this technology to other trucks across both games.

The team hopes this new feature makes players look forward to the 1.60 update even more. It brings a major enhancement to these truck interiors and makes the view from the driver’s seat better than ever.

Please note that the Road Trip vehicles are not releasing with the 1.60 update.

Check out our other recent updates: Game Radio feature announcement and community modding guide 2025.

Add Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator to your Steam wishlist to stay updated on all new features!

Until next time, be sure to follow SCS Software on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube for all the latest updates. Do not forget to sign up for the newsletter as well. See you out on the road, and keep on truckin’.